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Dominic Monaghan Recounts David Bowie Auditioning For ‘Lord Of The Rings’ | Film News

Former Hobbit Dominic Monaghan has claimed that David Bowie once auditioned for a role in the immensely popular Lord of the Rings trilogy. Monaghan, who played Merry in all three films, had this to say: “I was at the Hubbard’s, which is a pretty notorious casting agency office in London, doing an audition for Lord of the Rings, and when it ended I went over and talked to John Hubbard, who was running the audition, and he said, ‘Hey, it went really well. You should wait around for five or 10 mins. We’ll give you some feedback’“.

Just as he is waiting for said feedback, who should walk into the office? The Thin White Duke himself. Monaghan claimed that at the time, he thought Bowie might be auditioning for Gandalf, but Peter Jackson, director of both the Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies, has for a long time hinted that the iconic musician was auditioning for the role of Elrond, the Elven lord of Rivendell.

Despite how awesome that would have been, Hugo Weaving was finally cast for that role. Jackson claimed in an interview with Entertainment Weekly in 2001 that this was because: “To have a famous, beloved character and a famous star colliding is slightly uncomfortable“. There is sense in his logic, but a part of me will always be left wondering what David Bowie would have been like as Elrond.